County unveils Citizen Alerts

Staff report

Through a partnership between Lincoln County and the City of Lincolnton, residents will now have a new provider for their emergency notification system.
As of Tuesday, the new system, Citizen Alerts, has replaced the LincAlerts/LincInfo notification system that has been offered since July 2011.
According to a press release, Citizen Alerts will allow citizens to receive time sensitive messages regarding emergency events through their home phones, mobile phones, business phones with extensions, faxes, text message or email. The system enables the county or the city to provide participants with critical information in a variety of situations such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons and the evacuation of a building or neighborhood. Participants will be able to customize their notifications by selecting weather alert options, special needs options and various city and county informational options.
“The technology advances in notifications and mapping offered by the new contractor, Everbridge, will allow us to better serve to our citizens,” County Manager Tracy Jackson said in the press release.
Citizens who have been participating in the previous LincAlert/LincInfo system will automatically be in enrolled in the new system. However, they will need to go to the website to opt-in for the free weather alerts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in order to continue receiving them after July 1.
In an emergency situation where the safety of all citizens is involved, Citizen Alerts has the capacity to notify all residents who have a listed landline telephone in Lincoln County. The 911 Emergency Communications Center has a database of published landlines in the county to send out these types of emergency alerts. However, citizens who no longer maintain landline telephones or who have unlisted phone numbers will need to register online if they would like to receive these notifications.
There will be no cost for citizens to participate in the program. In order to sign up, visit www.lincolncounty.org and click on the “LINCALERTS and LINCINFO are now CITIZEN ALERT” link under “Quick Links.” Those interested in learning more about this emergency notification system should contact Coral Saunders or Rick Ellis of Lincoln County Emergency Communications at (704) 736-8400.